Tag Archives: daycare

Hopefully by now you have settled into a routine after the back to school craziness. Are you wishing you could put an “out of order” sign on your head and run away? Thank you to The Peaceful Mom for the inspiration for today’s blog…

Are you searching for a way to get it all done and stay sane? Do you wonder if it is even possible to do that? Is your to-do list growing while your time seems to be slipping away?

I know my daughter is grown but I do still run into days like this. I think I still suffer from the same overwhelm I did so many years ago juggling work, business and family. Here are some tips from the Peaceful Mom and me.

#1 – KICK MOM GUILT TO THE CURB

It is okay if you don’t get everything done. Let me repeat “it is okay NOT to get everything done”! Some things can wait. Yup, I still suffer with mom guilt. 🙂 The best way for me to get things done is to set THREE tasks a day as my top priority. I used to do this when Belinda was growing up. Picking just one or two things to get done during the week while I was working full-time and being mom taxi. I seemed to forget how well it worked until a business coach, Desiree Wolfe suggested the same thing for my business.

Some tasks can wait, it all depends on what needs attention at the moment. I have started using my Passion Planner for more then just keeping track of office hours, weekly to dos, business stuff and medical appointments. I am using it to list my 3 things for the day. I love the fact it has space to make lots of notes as well as a spot to celebrate “good things which happened”. Now, I am sure you could accomplish more than 3 things in a day BUT for those days when getting 3 things done is a struggle, you will want to have this system in place. Sometimes the list looks like this:

Yup, when brain fog sets in, this could be my list of things to do. The biggest accomplishment is no losing my temper and on some days it is a true miracle.

#2 THINK TINY

Do you have “time pockets”? You know the 5 or 10 minutes while you are waiting for the kids in the school line or washing some dishes as you cook dinner. I like the term “time pockets” instead of multi-tasking. Pick a task to do while you are waiting (one which will only take a few minutes)… waiting for the kids, waiting in line to check out, waiting for your gas task to be filled. How many time pockets do you have and how can you fill them to get more things done?

#3 – CHOOSE YOUR TOOLS

Busy moms need practical, functional tools to stay on top of all the details. Let’s face it we are not only juggling our own stuff but things for the entire family. I use a paper planner, the calendar app on my phone and Notes on my phone. I talked about my Passion Planner. It is where I dream big, set my goals and priorities then create a weekly plan to pull it all together. I use my smart phone calendar to set notifications and keep track of appointments because it is linked to my iPad and my MAC. The benefit of Google Calendar is you can keep everyone’s stuff organized then share it with everyone across all devices. You need to find a system which works for YOU.

#4 – MAKE AN APPOINTMENT WITH YOURSELF

I take time each week to plan for the upcoming week. My planning time is Sunday evening and I plan out:

My Calendar: Set the goals, projects and top priority tasks for the week and time block on my calendar. I also prep for the week for posting on all of my business pages with CinchShare.

Meals: Planning for meals is a BIG help for busy moms. Since I only cook twice a week, it is not tops on my list.

Money: This is now part of my Sunday night routine. Review the bills which need to be paid and figure out what the budget will be for the week.

When you take the time to plan, you will find the week goes some much smoother. Include scheduling the planning time on your calendar so you don’t make excuses.

#5 – BUDDY UP

Carpooling can be a life saver for the busy mom. Team up with someone to share the mom taxi role. You take the kids to practice, she picks them up. You watch her kids so she can run errands and then swap so she watches yours. Remember we don’t have to do it ALL! Teaming up with other moms gives everyone a break. No help? Why not limit your kids extra activities and your extra commitments. No, it won’t make you a bad parent!

The BIGGEST tip is to remember what is really important and stop obsessing over little things. For many years, I felt guilty for leaving Belinda a daycare from the time she was 6 weeks old BUT when things came together and I was able to quit my job to work at home, I realized what was important. She didn’t remember spending days at daycare when she remembers (I hope) is the time we spent together while she was in HS and my schedule was flexible.

Remember you are doing the best you can do with everything on your plate.